Around 90% of the Hungarian population watches videos on a weekly basis, and nearly half do so daily, primarily on smartphones, according to NMHH research. On average, we spend just over a tenth of our day – more than two and a half hours – consuming online video content to relax or to fill our otherwise “wasted” time spent waiting and travelling. It is also common to look for videos to solve technical problems, such as computer settings, which many people find more effective than asking an expert. The study reveals that men are more likely to watch videos at work or at the gym than women, who prefer to watch movies with friends. Women also like to put on video content in the background while doing monotonous household chores.

Among video sharing platforms, YouTube dominates in terms of awareness, popularity and usage. Almost half of respondents use it on a daily basis to find information or to listen to music. It is the largest available video-sharing platform, and the videos on it – typically between 5 and 20 minutes long – account for almost two hours of the average two and a half hours of online video viewing per day. The typical YouTube user is a male aged 30–39 with a secondary school education, living in one of the larger regional towns. YouTube has become indispensable, as every media outlet and content creator strives to be present on it: more than two thirds of respondents consider it a prestigious, reliable, simple and likeable platform, where every member of the family can find content that suits them.

As part of the study, participants were asked to assign a personality and age to each video platform in a playful exercise. YouTube was described as an affluent person in their forties, someone others look up to. TikTok, in contrast, was portrayed as a restless teenager with an exciting future ahead of them. This exercise helped to uncover the emotional attitudes associated with these platforms, which influence usage habits at a deeper level. The fact that different age groups relate to video-sharing platforms in different ways was reflected not only in their preferences, but also in how and why they consume content. In the survey, parents reported on their children’s media habits. It turns out that children most frequently watch cartoons on Videa and YouTube, often together with their parents. This means that watching videos is more than just shared leisure – it is also an opportunity for the transmission of cultural patterns.